Thin Air by Lynn Seresin Review

Monday, December 5, 2011

Title: Thin Air
Author: Lynn Seresin (Twitter, Facebook)
Publisher: Self-published
Publish Date: August 2, 2011
Genre: YA, Paranormal, UF
Pages: 437
Source: Author

Alice Ayre is no ordinary teenager. She took her first name from a statue in Central Park, pulled her last name out of the air (literally), and she’s actually almost a thousand years old. In fact, the only “ordinary” thing about Alice is that she’s in love.

Alice was a sylphid—a winged air spirit—when she spotted Daniel Field camping in the Adirondacks and lost her heart to the handsome NYU student. Intangible to the human senses, her only hope of winning his heart resides in becoming mortal, even though transmutation is forbidden by Paralda, ruler of the air. Risking punishment, however, seems a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness.
Alice is anything but ordinary, but she'd do anything necessary to fit in. She's a Sylphid, a spirit of the air, but a mere human made her want to be more, or less, according to her species. She wants to be mortal. Mortality has a price though, and whether Alice is ready to pay it or not is a serious question. Daniel might be the man of her dreams, but there are rules that Alice must break to find the one she is destined to be with. There's a chance she will fit in famously, but there's always a chance that her past will come back to haunt her.

Thin Air breathes new life into the paranormal genre, introducing readers to an entirely new type of being. Rather than inundating us with the common vampire or werewolf, we're given the ethereal, and we watch as it mingles and bleeds into real life. Author Lynn Seresin has wrote a tale of love and destiny, foremost, then added the paranormal into the mix, giving us the best of both worlds. With intricately detailed prose and a light, almost serene writing style, we can feel the world of air, fire, water and earth spirits. Thin Air risks it all with a new measure of the paranormal and allows the reader to delve into the elemental.

There was touch of brilliance behind Thin Air. Truly, it's a beautiful and unique story, blending elemental spirits into a very humanity-driven novel. We are introduced to Sylphs, who are air spirits, Salamanders, who are fire spirits), Gnomes, who are earth spirits and Undines, who are water spirits. It's an entirely new world within Thin Air, but the author develops the paranormal element very well, balancing it well with the necessary characterization. The setting of Thin Air was also done extremely well. Based on Greenwich Village in New York City, the backdrop of the novel is vivid and alive, lending to the urban aspect of the urban fantasy genre. Daniel and Alice, as a couple, were well-rounded, though I struggled with how quickly Delilah was pushed aside upon Alice's introduction. The other main issue that I had, honestly, had to be with how sweet and serendipitous the evolving relationship was and how abruptly sex was thrown into the mix. Now, I don't mind sex in YA books, but I want to see a true evolution, and I felt it was sudden and rushed and, to be honest, a bit out of place. The ending was also bit hasty for my liking, but at the same time, it did have that element that made you desperate for the next book.

All in all, Thin Air was a good book. Perhaps it wasn't my absolute favourite book, but it was fresh and original, which counts for a lot! I give it a strong 3.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it fans of YA, especially those who enjoy paranormal, paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

I received this book free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

16 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting. I like the unique paranormal creature - it's rare to find something new. But it doesn't sound like the plot is anything original. The sex would bother me too - at least in the sense that there isn't an evolution.

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  2. Oh, this cover reminds me so much of Tithe by Holly Black!

    It sounds amazing! So glad you liked it!

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  3. Wow this does sound different! Wonderful review!

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  4. While the concept sounds fascinating, I think the abrupt changes will drive me crazy. Not sure if I'll pick this one up so I'll put it on my "maybe reads".

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  5. this sounds really interesting and i hadn't heard of it before. it's nice to sometimes find something outside of the vampire/werewolf and dystopian thing, no? i mean, i like that stuff, but new stuff is lovely too.

    excellent thoughts, and they make me want to read this one for sure. at the very least, i'm curious!! thanks, gal!

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  6. It sounds like a unique story, but the rushed quality to the relationship/ending does seem a bit frustrating....Interesting review!

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  7. Hm. So the relationship is just going along and then BAM sex? That would be a bit jarring. Love the uniqueness of this one though, especially given how hard it is to come up with a unique paranormal being so that alone makes me want to read it. Beautiful review as always:)

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  8. Wow, this definitely sounds different! I might check it out. Thanks for the review!

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  9. I am not a fan of hasty endings, they make me frown and mutter

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  10. Hmm, I'm torn! I like the sound of the storyline, and that it's very unique...but I'm not liking the sound of the lack of focus on building a relationship between the characters. I guess I'll think about it. :P Thanks for the review, Melissa!

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  12. This one sounds actually really good! Your review makes me want to read it...but I'm confused about your rating vs. your review. But then again, I have rated books that I really like...but don't LOVE a 3 so I get it.

    Magical Urban Fantasy Reads
    bookluvrmindy

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  13. So, do you know if this is going to be a series or was the hasty conclusion a neat tie up of all the strings hanging? I hate those endings almost as much as I hate leave it to the reader to figure out endings. I might read this one just b/c the paranormal element is so different. Of course I've got a lot of contemporary to read don't I? :)

    As always excellent well thought out review! Thank you!

    Heather

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  14. Great review! I loved the idea and the world created. You have the right words to say in your review!

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  15. I felt exactly the same about the sex! Though I am not opposed to sex in YA books I just thought that it was a stretch for this book, that it seemed out of place in the generally really cutesy storyline.

    Great review Melissa!

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  16. this is such a Great review!  I loved the idea and the world created. 

    air to air heat exchanger

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